Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025 Summary

This document is the University of ’s (UoS) Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025 (the Strategy). It was developed by the University in partnership with the University of Southampton Students’ Union (SUSU). It sets out our ambitious vision for a sustainable University and what we need to achieve to get there. Climate change and ecological destruction are the greatest challenges of our time. We have a Our vision responsibility to respond to these crises, and as a university we can play a unique role in doing so. Our vision is that by We need to rapidly reduce our negative environmental impact, while drawing on our world-leading 2030, sustainability research and education to help tackle the climate crisis. This Strategy has been developed rapidly will be a part of in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic because we want to take advantage of this opportunity everything the to change our behaviour and processes, and thereby build a better future. University of Southampton To deliver on our vision we have identified the following goals. does: our individual behaviours, how Goal 1 Achieve net zero emissions for Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 2030 we work together, Goal 2 Measure our total emissions footprint and set targets for Scope 3 emissions reductions and how we make Goal 3 Adopt a value-based approach to reduce emissions from business travel decisions for the future. This is key Goal 4 Ensure that sustainability is a part of every University education programme by 2025 to achieving our Goal 5 Make sustainability a cornerstone of UoS’ research and societal impact mission of changing the world for Goal 6 Implement a sustainable and ethical investment policy the better.

Enablers of the Strategy Culture and behaviour. We cannot deliver this Strategy without the University’s people. We need Partnership working. We will deliver Strategy to harness commitment to sustainability across through partnership with the whole University the University, use networks and champions community, including gathering ideas and drawing to promote change, and encourage positive on expertise and resources from all. behaviour. We need commitment from leaders Leadership. Community engagement. We need to reinforce at all levels of the University to implement the our identity as a civic university and link our initiatives in the Strategy and model sustainable sustainability vision to that of the Southampton, behaviour. and wider regional community. We have developed a governance Governance. Communication. We need to effectively structure that ensures we hold ourselves demonstrate our commitment to sustainability accountable to deliver on our sustainability vision and our world-leading sustainability-related and supports implementation in different areas of teaching and research to the outside world. the University. University of Southampton Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025

rint otp fo ns GOAL 03 GOAL 04 io ss Adopt a value- Ensure that i based approach to sustainability is part m e reduce emissions of every University r u from business education o GOAL 02 travel programme GOAL 05 e c Measure our total by 2025 Make sustainability u emissions footprint a cornerstone of d e and set targets for UoS’ research and r Scope 3 emissions societal impact o t reductions s l a o G GOAL 01 Strategy Goals GOAL 06 Achieve net zero Implement a emissions for Scope sustainable and 1 and Scope 2 by ethical investment 2030 What will we do? policy

What Our civic engagement Partnership working How is the will we The University Strategy Leadership context? deliver it? Education Strategy Governance

International strategy Community engagement

Research and Communication Enterprise Strategy Culture and behaviour Estates Strategy About the Strategy

The Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025 sets out our ambitious vision for a more sustainable University, and what we need to do to achieve this vision over the next five years. It contains six goals, each of which will be delivered by a set of initiatives with associated targets. This document also includes information on the ‘enablers’ of the Strategy and our high-level approach to implementation. This Strategy was developed in mid-2020 by the UoS in partnership with the SUSU. It builds on existing work to improve our sustainability and incorporates input from students, staff, and other members of the University community. This input was gathered through a rapid, comprehensive consultation process which involved workshops, interviews, and the opportunity – which is ongoing – to provide written feedback on a Green Paper . The details of the consultation process are provided in the Appendix.

Why act?

The global and local context Climate change and ecological decline are the greatest challenges of our time. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that the global average surface temperature has already warmed by 0.87 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times and will have warmed by 1.5 degrees by 2040 at the current rate of change.1 Rising temperatures have already led to higher sea levels, displacement of communities, and more frequent and intense severe weather events including wildfires, droughts, and floods. Biodiversity – the scale and variety of life on earth – is also declining at an unprecedented rate. A 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) showed that around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction.2 The 2016 Paris Agreement aims to address the climate crisis by keeping global temperature increases well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. It has 175 signatories, including the (UK). Under the 2008 Climate Change Act, the UK Government committed to an 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050, which was modified in 2019 to net zero emissions by 2050.3 Our local community has also committed to action. In 2019, the declared a climate emergency and published its Green City Charter: a set of commitments through which the City Council and the wider city will become ‘cleaner, greener, healthier, and more sustainable’.4 In 2020, the City Council released the Green City Plan, which describes how it will deliver its environmental commitments, including reaching net zero emissions by 2030.5 In parallel, Winchester City Council has developed a Carbon Neutrality Action Plan (2020-2030) which focuses on reduction, elimination and offsetting carbon emissions to achieve net zero by 2030. We will work in partnership with both Cities and the wider region to deliver this Strategy.

1. IPCC, 2018, ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C’, accessed at: link. 2. IPBES, 2019,’Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’, accessed at: link. 3. UK Government, 27 June 2019, ‘UK becomes first major economy to pass net zero emissions law’, accessed at: link 4. Southampton City Council, 2019, ‘Green City Charter’, accessed at: link. 5. Southampton City Council, 2020, ‘Green City Plan 2030, accessed at: link Where are we now? to prevent our emissions from increasing during a period of significant growth, but we have not driven down our overall footprint. As of 2019, our emissions per student and staff FTE As a University, we want to support the actions of our had reduced by 17 per cent compared to 2005/06. However, community and provide an ambitious model for how other we had only reduced our overall Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 3 organisations can improve their sustainability. Last year we per cent, well short of our 20 per cent reduction target. committed to the Southampton City Council’s Green City Charter, pledging our support to the goal of achieving net Figure 1 | Southampton’s emissions for 2018/196 zero emissions by 2030. UoS currently chairs the Worldwide Universities Network’s Global Challenge group for Responding to Climate Change and is a member of the EAUC Climate Change Commission Council. We have had an Environmental Management System for several years, which is certified ISO 14001:2015 standard and rated ‘Platinum’ by EcoCampus. We were ranked 12th in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings in 2019 and are also a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord, which commits us to embed the United Nations’ (UN) SDGs into our education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities. The SDGs are the UN’s blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. We also have significant strengths in sustainability-related teaching and research. We are world-leading in areas including Engineering, Social Impact, Demography, Global Health and Kgs of CO2e % of total Scope 3: Wastewater treatment 270,001 0.81 Earth and Marine Sciences, and we have several existing Scope 3: Water supply 138,000 0.41 research centres and groups dedicated to sustainability Scope 3: Business travel by air 8,981,974* 26.94

(for example, the Energy and Climate Change Group, the Scope 3 total 9,389,975 28.16

Sustainable Energy Research Group, the NEXUS Science Scope 1 & 2: Steam and hot water 433,921 1.30 Strategic Research Group, the Clean Carbon research group Scope 1 & 2: Vehicles (diesel) 186,446 0.56 and the Future Towns Innovation Hub). Scope 1 & 2: Grid electricity 10,116,827 30.34 Scope 1 & 2: Natural gas 13,214,878 39.63 However, like all universities we face tough challenges in Scope 1 and 2 total 23,952,072 71.84 reducing our environmental impact. With over 22,000 Total 33,342,047 100 students and 5,000 staff, a large estate with on-campus * Our air travel data is currently only available in kgs of CO2, not kgs of CO2e. This means that is accommodation, and the laboratories and other facilities an underestimate of the contribution of air travel to Southampton’s total emissions footprint. that support our world-leading research, we are a significant energy user and major producer of waste. We have managed

Greenhouse gas emissions are grouped into three ‘Scopes’ Scope 1: direct emissions that the University controls, mainly from fuel combustion on-site (e.g. operational vehicles, or gas boilers). Scope 2: indirect emissions from electricity purchased and used by the University. Scope 3: all other indirect emissions from sources the University does not own or control. This includes emissions associated with travel, procurement of products consumed by the University, and waste and water. Scope 3 emissions are far more difficult to measure and control than Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which is why most universities and organisations do not yet measure and report on them. The UoS has measured its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions since 2005/6 and it has some data on its Scope 3 emissions from business travel, but not enough to gain an accurate picture of its total Scope 3 emissions. Figure 1 gives an overview of UoS’ recent annual emissions for categories that we report.

6 HESA, Estates Management Record, 2020, ‘Table 3 – Emissions and waste’: link. HESA calculates CO2e using the Department for Business, Energy & Sustainable Industry conversion factors to account for additional greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide. Business travel data is from the Clarity Travel Management System. Our Vision

What will the University of Southampton look like in 2030? Our vision is that by 2030, sustainability will be a part of everything the UoS does across all our campuses. We want to demonstrate leadership in sustainability to our students, and to our local and global communities. Our vision In practical terms, this means that by 2030 we want to have achieved our target of net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, have substantially reduced our Scope 3 emissions and have embedded Our vision is that by sustainability into our teaching, learning, research, and professional services operations. By 2030, 2030, sustainability we want to attract people to study and work at UoS because they share our commitment to will be a part of sustainability. everything the University of What will the University of Southampton look like in 2025? Southampton does: our individual By 2025, we want to be well on the way to achieving our 2030 vision. This means having: behaviours, how • Reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in line with our 2030 net zero target. we work together, and how we make • Developed a robust approach to measuring Scope 3 emissions and set an ambitious decisions for the target to reduce our Scope 3 emissions. future. This is key • Reduced our emissions from business travel through an approach that balances the to achieving our benefits of travel with its impact on the environment. mission of changing the world for • Given our students, staff, and wider community multiple opportunities to learn more the better. about sustainability and adapted what we teach to the changing world. • Put structures in place to support and enhance our sustainability-related research and to measure the impact of our investment in this area. • Implemented a sustainable and ethical investment policy, which helps us to support positive action to address the climate crisis. have a global impact (for example, by stimulating more global partnerships devoted to sustainability research). These Our approach relationships work both ways, with the University sharing its expertise and contributing to the communities of which it is a part, and learning lessons and gathering resources to sustainability from elsewhere. Figure 2 | Our conceptual approach to sustainability in this Strategy ‘Sustainability’ is a broad and complex term that can mean different things to different people. We define sustainability as living within the boundaries of our planet to meet the needs of current generations while protecting the needs of future generations. While environmental sustainability is the primary focus of this Strategy, we know that economic and social sustainability are important components of sustainability overall. This means recognising the broader implications of our goals beyond environmental outcomes. It also means accepting the need to balance our environmental outcomes with long-term financial sustainability, because we want people to benefit from UoS decades into the future. We have developed a conceptual framework to illustrate our approach to sustainability and put this Strategy in context (See Figure 2). The series of rings show the University’s people at the centre. Our staff and students are at the core of what we do, and REGIONAL AND promote sustainability through their actions and behaviour. COMMUNITY IMPACT The second ring represents the University’s strategic goals. This includes the goals outlined in this Strategy, those defined The University’s sustainability Or, it could mean the broader goals should have a positive impact of the sustainability goals in our University Strategy, and those defined in our Education, impact on the city of for the community – e.g. through Research and Enterprise, International and Estates strategies. Southampton and the region, and cleaner air, more sustainable its community. transport infrastructure, or more The third ring comprises the University’s areas of operations – jobs in the region. such as estates and operations, teaching and learning, and so This could include the specific way in which our sustainability on – where our sustainability goals are translated into practical goals help to deliver on the action. The final ring depicts the 17 SDGs, to demonstrate that Green City Plan. our goals and operations sit within the context of the key areas of sustainability action identified by the GLOBAL IMPACT international community. The University’s sustainability goals target on keeping global emissions should also have a positive impact on below 2 degrees Celsius. This framework also emphasises that the University exists the global effort to tackle climate change and ecological decline. It could also be through the within its local and global community. Each of the goals University’s influence internationally – in this Strategy is likely to have an impact on the City of This could be through practical e.g. researchers contributing to global Southampton, the City of Winchester, and our region (for efforts to reduce emissions – e.g. the climate change conferences or impact of the University’s net zero reports. example, by contributing to cleaner air). Each goal will also

Our ongoing work The goals defined below do not stand alone. There is important ongoing work, for example, in the areas of biodiversity, waste and recycling at the University. This Strategy focuses on specific sustainability issues that we have identified as needing the most attention, with the aim of complementing continued progress in other areas. For example, as well as the broader University strategies noted above, this Strategy sits alongside the University Travel Plan and Biodiversity Policy, which will continue to drive our approach to sustainability in those key areas. We also see this Strategy as interlinked with our role as one of the UK’s leading civic universities: we must deliver our sustainability goals in partnership with our city and regional communities. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the leading cause of the planet’s rapidly changing climate. UoS urgently needs to reduce 01 its emissions to support the global effort to address the climate Goal crisis. At a local level, reducing our emissions will contribute to improved air quality in our region and will help the City of Southampton and the City of Winchester to deliver on their net zero commitments. The Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education Students and Leaders (the Climate Commission) – of which the University is a member – has advised that all higher education institutions should aim for net zero GHG emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 2030 as a minimum, as per IPCC recommendations.7 We are determined to meet this goal. Our net zero by 2030 target covers Scope 1 and 2 emissions, but not Scope 3 emissions. This is because we don’t yet have an accurate baseline for our Scope 3 emissions (See Goal 2). Once this baseline has been established we will set ambitious Scope 3 emissions reduction targets, which will be incorporated into our roadmap to net zero (see below).

What will we do? Achieving this goal will require careful planning that draws on the expertise of our academics, professional services staff and students. To this end, we will create a detailed ‘roadmap to net zero’ (see inset). A key part of the roadmap will be interim 2025 Achieve net emissions reduction targets, because we need to make significant progress by this date to put us on the path to net zero. zero emissions Our roadmap to net zero: The roadmap will identify the biggest opportunities to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and outline the initiatives we will implement to for Scope 1 achieve net zero by 2030. The roadmap will be aligned with the Climate Commission’s Carbon Management Hierarchy principles of ‘avoid, reduce, replace and offset’. and Scope 2 by Specifically, it will contain: • Projected BAU emissions to 2030 and the scale of reduction needed to reach our target. 2030 • Interim 2025 emissions reduction targets that will put us on the path to achieve net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. • A firm commitment to incorporate sustainability into all our investment decisions such that they support emissions reduction, even if the payback is over the long term. Targets and indicators • Initiatives to reduce emissions, including: ɖ Between September and November 2020, we will hold – Installing on-site renewable energy and buying grid electricity a series of workshops and consultations to develop our from renewable providers. roadmap to net zero, including interim Scope 1 and Scope 2 – Conducting energy retrofitting of buildings to make them emissions reductions targets for 2025. more efficient and allow them to be powered by green energy. ɖ By the end of 2020, we will have published our roadmap to – Implementing highly efficient standards for the University’s net zero and our 2025 interim targets. This Strategy will be buildings and modifying our Estates Strategy in line with updated to reflect the roadmap and interim targets. these standards. – Replacing all end-of-life University vehicles with electric vehicles and making associated investment in charging infrastructure. – Developing a University-run offsetting scheme (to be used only as a last resort for difficult to control emissions) that focuses on enhancing the biodiversity of our estate and region. Once our Scope 3 baseline and targets have been developed, they 7 EUAC – The Appliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education, 2020, will be incorporated into the roadmap. This will extend the roadmap ‘Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education Students & beyond 2030 to the achievement of full net zero across Scope 1, 2 and Leaders’, link. 3 emissions. We have set an ambitious target to reach net zero for Scope 1 and 02 2 by 2030, but this will not eliminate our total GHG footprint. We Goal also need to tackle our Scope 3 emissions, which occur because of our activities but over which we do not have direct control. Scope 3 emissions make up an estimated 60 per cent of emissions for higher education institutions,8 and include student and staff commuting, business travel, and the products we buy and consume. It is vital that we work towards achieving net zero for Scope 3 emissions to play our role in addressing the climate crisis. The first step towards this is understanding our total emissions footprint. Our aim is that by early 2021, we will have developed a methodology to measure our Scope 3 emissions and define a baseline. Then, we can set ambitious Scope 3 reductions targets and add these to the roadmap. An interim 2030 target on the road to net zero for Scope 3 emissions will be included as a key goal in the Sustainability Strategy 2025-2030 (for example, a reduction of 30 per cent by 2030). We will need to carefully consider how these targets align with and impact our Estates Strategy and International Strategy. It is critical that we determine a Scope 3 baseline so that we can track our progress over time. However, this should not prevent us from developing plans now to reduce the Scope 3 emissions we already measure – particularly those from commuting, business travel and waste. We will reduce our emissions from commuter travel by implementing the Travel Plan to 2030, while business Measure our travel is addressed in Goal 3.

What will we do? total emissions • Build on previous UoS work to develop a rigorous, flexible method to measure our Scope 3 emissions. The methodology will be based on the Government GHG conversion factors9 footprint and and other sector-wide conventions. It will require us to determine the University’s boundaries and categories for Scope 3 emissions. set targets • Use this methodology to define the University’s total Scope 3 baseline, its baseline for different categories of Scope 3 emissions and its total carbon footprint for all three Scopes. for Scope 3 • Set ambitious targets to reduce Scope 3 emissions and incorporate these into the net zero roadmap. emissions 8 Arup, CenSA and De Montfort University, 2012, ‘Report to HEFCE: Measuring scope 3 carbon emissions – supply chain (procurement)’, accessed: link. reductions 9 Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 2019, ‘2019 Government greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting: Methodology paper for emission factors’, accessed at: link.

Targets and indicators ɖ By early 2021 we will have published our methodology to measure Scope 3 emissions and have established a Scope 3 baseline. ɖ By the end of 2021 we will have set an ambitious target to reduce our Scope 3 emissions and incorporated this into our roadmap to net zero. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led higher education institutions around the globe to reappraise the value of 03 business travel (including for conferences). UoS has demonstrated Goal its ability to successfully hold regular meetings online and gain value from virtual conferences. We want to seize the opportunity presented by this unique moment in time to become a leader in the sector on more sustainable approaches to business travel. Emissions from business travel form one of the largest components of our Scope 3 emissions. According to the Clarity travel system, staff and postgraduate research student business travel by air generates approximately 1.15 tonnes of CO2e/FTE per year, with the majority of this travel being for conferences. Travel for conferences has a significant impact on a global scale – a recent article in Nature estimated that total emissions caused by travel to one large academic conference can rival the CO2e emitted by an entire city over the course of a week.10 By reducing our business travel, we can make significant progress towards reducing our Scope 3 emissions. We will do this by adopting a value-based approach to business travel supported by a sector-leading approach to virtual collaboration and conferences. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues we will invest in our people and technology to ensure that, as far as possible, our online interactions create as much benefit as face to face engagement. We want to demonstrate that Adopt a value- virtual collaboration and conferences can be useful and inspiring so that universities, academic associations, and funding bodies don’t fall back into old habits when travel becomes more viable. As we begin to travel again, we will do so using a value-based based approach approach that balances the environmental impact of each trip against its contribution to our core mission. We recognise that as a world-leading, research-intensive university, our staff and students to reduce sometimes need to travel in support of our educational and research goals. We will support staff and students to make informed choices about their mode of travel and their trip itinerary. emissions from What will we do? • Invest in high-quality virtual collaboration and communication business travel technology and offer training in virtual facilitation and presentation to staff and students. • Implement a points system which helps individuals to estimate Targets and indicators the value of travel. The system will be based on a framework that outlines consideration for enhancing education, delivery ɖ By the end of 2020, we will have set a target for business of research, exchange of ideas and other benefits. travel emissions reductions by 2025. The target will use • Implement an emissions calculator tool in the Clarity system 2018 as a baseline, because this is the first year for which to show individuals the emissions produced by different travel Clarity data is available. This Strategy will be updated to modes for a given trip. This will allow staff to make informed reflect the target, which will also be incorporated into our choices about their travel. It will also allow individuals to see roadmap to net zero. their total emissions from travel in a given month or year. ɖ By the end of 2020, we will have incorporated an • Proactively influence the sector to reduce emissions from emissions calculator into Clarity. travel. This will include encouraging other UK universities to ɖ By the end of 2020, we will have published a consultation adopt a similar, value-based approach to reducing emissions paper on the implementation of a points system for from travel, promoting virtual conferences or other measures assessing the value of travel. (such as regional hubs) to reduce emissions associated with conference travel and influencing professional associations ɖ During the 2021/2022 academic year, we will pilot the to accept online international collaboration as valuable for points system for assessing the value of business travel in academic progression. selected Schools/Departments. • Undertake a feasibility study for a University-wide ɖ By the end of 2021, we will have conducted a feasibility emissions budget for business travel, comprising budgets study for a University-wide emissions budget for business for each Faculty. travel. ɖ The points system will be rolled out across the whole 10 Kloewer, Milan, Hopkins, Debbie, Myles, Allen, and Higham, James. ‘An University for the 2023/24 academic year. Analysis of Ways to Decarbonize Conference Travel after COVID-19.’ Nature 583, no. 16 July 2020 (2020): 356–539) Our role in educating thousands of people every year gives us 04 a great opportunity to help shape the global response to the Goal climate crisis. We know our students and staff care deeply about sustainability and are eager to learn more about it. During the consultations that informed this Strategy, we consistently heard that students want sustainability to form an integral part of their UoS education. We will ensure that our graduates are equipped to become leaders in sustainability and will support our students to contribute to a more sustainable future while they study with us. We want students to apply to UoS because they are attracted to our focus on sustainability. Our aim is that by 2025, every student studying at the University will have an opportunity to learn more about sustainability and their role in a more sustainable future. We will offer carbon literacy training to all students (and staff) and develop a standalone, online sustainability module that helps our community to better understand the pressure we are placing on the planet’s finite resources, the impact of our individual behaviour, and how we can act to protect the planet for future generations. Students also want to understand how sustainability relates to their field of study, so we will integrate tailored sustainability components into every UoS education programme. This will look different across Schools and Departments. Ensure that To achieve these goals, we need to work in partnership with our students to build on our existing strengths in sustainability education. We will support staff and students who already work sustainability on sustainability-related issues to pass their knowledge on to others, and will offer training that assists both staff and students to integrate sustainability into their programmes. Our efforts in is a part of this area will align with our commitment to the SDG Accord, which requires us to incorporate the SDGs into our education, research, and operations. every University What will we do? • Offer carbon literacy training to all students and staff as part of orientation (for example through the Carbon Literacy education Project11). Carbon literacy training equips people with a basic understanding of the science behind climate change and the things they can do to reduce their environmental impact. programme by • Develop an online, interdisciplinary sustainability module with input from academics and students from across the University. This will be made available as part of all first-year 2025 courses. The module will draw on existing teaching at the University and will be made available to the public in future. • Empower staff and students to integrate sustainability into the curriculum through a ‘train the trainer’ model. This Targets and indicators means equipping a mix of staff and students from across the University with the skills to teach others in their School how ɖ By the end of the 2020/21 academic year, all Schools will to incorporate sustainability themes into their programmes in have had at least one training session on incorporating a subject-specific way. sustainability into the curriculum. • Showcase programmes that have successfully integrated ɖ Beginning in 2021/22, all students and staff will have the sustainability and share lessons learned. opportunity to participate in carbon literacy training as part of their orientation. ɖ From 2021/22, an online, interdisciplinary sustainability 11 The Carbon Literacy Project, 2020, ‘About Us’, accessed at: link. module will be available to all students. The module will later be made publicly available. ɖ By 2025, all education programmes will have integrated, subject-relevant sustainability themes. One of the biggest contributions the University can make to 05 addressing the climate crisis is through its research. We have a Goal vital role to play in increasing the world’s knowledge about the sustainability-related challenges facing our society, and solving these challenges through innovation and expertise. We are a world-leader in areas aligned with environmental sustainability, such as Earth and Marine Sciences and Engineering. There are a range of successful sustainability-related research groups and initiatives across the University, including the Energy and Climate Change Group, the Sustainable Energy Research Group, the NEXUS Science Strategic Research Group, the Clean Carbon Research Group and the Future Towns Innovation Hub. We believe we can grow our sustainability research and increase its impact by establishing a Sustainability and Resilience Research Hub. The Hub will be a virtual research ‘centre’, which brings together researchers from a range of disciplines to deliver interdisciplinary research projects addressing the SDGs. The Hub will take a systems-based approach to sustainability, which recognises the complexity of ‘wicked problems’ such as climate change. By 2025, our aim is to have developed and embedded the Hub as a cornerstone of the University’s research and impact, with a Make growing number of researchers aligned to it. We want the Hub to have stimulated and supported interdisciplinary research teams that have successfully obtained support from external funding sources. Finally, we want even more researchers to be attracted to sustainability a UoS because of our distinctive sustainability research. cornerstone of What will we do? A Steering Group led by the Pro Vice Chancellor for Interdisciplinary Research and the Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Medicine will gather input on the Hub, including UoS’ research its focus and how it can best support researchers. The results of these consultations will shape this goal, but as a starting point, we plan to: and societal • Develop a clear statement of purpose for the Hub and how researchers should engage with it, based on feedback from the consultations. impact • In the first year of the Hub, pilot projects using existing internal research funding to build momentum for research linked to the sustainability theme. • By 2022, assuming the Hub has been successful so far, create Targets and indicators the position of Hub Director. The Director will be responsible ɖ By December 2020, we will have undertaken an audit for communicating the Hub’s purpose, encouraging of all sustainability research currently being done at the interdisciplinary collaboration, and identifying appropriate University to be used as a benchmark for assessing future external funding sources. progress. ɖ By the end of the 2020/21 academic year, we will have completed consultations on the role of the Hub, established its conceptual framework, and communicated this to the rest of the University. ɖ By 2025, we will have increased the number and total value of research projects linked to sustainability at the University. As a large organisation, the University has significant buying 06 power and ability to exert influence through the way it uses its Goal assets and how it engages with other organisations. We want to use this power to support a more sustainable and ethical future. To do this, we need to articulate a clear sustainable and ethical investment policy for how we use our assets. The University is a not-for-profit organisation, and the purpose of its investments is to enable us to continue to deliver our core mission. The University aims to ensure value for money in all its activities – mindful of both its public and non-public funding sources. The primary objectives of the University’s treasury management activities are to ensure the security of the principal sum it invests, maintain adequate liquidity to meet operational needs and gain an appropriate level of investment return. The cash balances we hold are for our own investment – for example, through new buildings, IT infrastructure and seed funding projects. Treasury management, and the creation of investment portfolios, aims to protect our cash until such a time as required, and the income generated ensures value for money is achieved with no risk to security. We will develop a sustainable and ethical investment policy that outlines how we will use our investments to achieve positive influence in these areas. The policy will define our approach Implement a to ‘decarbonisation’, a term for reducing the exposure of an investment portfolio to companies that extract and produce fossil fuels. We need to determine how far we expand our definition sustainable of decarbonisation and ensure that our investments support companies and activities that are working to address the climate crisis. and ethical As a future consideration, we need to ensure that the values embodied by this Strategy and our sustainable and ethical investment policy are reflected in other areas of the University’s investment operations. This will require a larger piece of work that defines a values framework for the University as a whole. This values framework would shape our relationships with our suppliers, our research funders, and the companies we partner with policy more broadly.

What will we do? We have already established an Investment Committee, which Targets and indicators will be responsible for developing our sustainable and ethical investment policy and advising on the path to decarbonisation. ɖ By February 2021, we will have completed an audit of fossil This committee will: fuel exposure in our portfolio. • Develop a sustainable and ethical investment policy for all ɖ By 2022, we will have put in place our sustainable and our investments that reflects our vision in this Strategy. ethical investment policy. • Work with fund managers to apply the policy to the ɖ By 2025, our portfolio will be fully compliant with our University’s current investment portfolio. sustainable and ethical investment policy. • Establish a transparent process of reporting on the sustainable and ethical investment policy and how it has influenced the University’s investment decisions over time (while protecting sensitive information where necessary). Implementation

Following the launch of this Strategy in laying the foundations for long-term September 2020, the Sustainability Strategy success. Implementation Group will develop a detailed Implementation Plan for 2020-2022. • Piloting, testing, and adjusting This will be published before the end of approaches. We want to use different 2020 and for each goal will include specific parts of the University to pilot initiatives, activities, sequencing, measurable targets evaluate different approaches, Resourcing for and estimates of resource requirements. and modify our solutions before implementation implementing them more broadly. For An initial, two-year implementation plan will The Implementation example, we aim to pilot our approach allow us to plan with as much certainty as Plan 2020-2022 and its to reducing emissions from business possible. We will follow the 2022 plan with a successor will identify travel in a School or Department, and plan to 2025. the total amount to integrate sustainability into a small of funding needed group of programmes before rolling this over the life of this Overview of implementation to out across the whole University. 2025 strategy. Because it will be difficult to Reporting and Monitoring We have developed an indicative, 5-year judge this total, we timeline for how we could deliver these goals We will measure and assess our progress plan to first develop and the key milestones to 2025 (see Figure against the goals and targets outlined a detailed estimate 3). This plan is necessarily high-level but in the Strategy on an annual basis. The of the funding and reflects some key assumptions about our Sustainability Strategy Implementation resources required for approach to implementation. These include: Group will lead on this assessment process the first two years of (likely to be towards the end of the academic the Strategy. This will • A combination of incremental and year) with support from operational areas consider the cost of ‘big bang’ changes. The COVID-19 and departments across the University. In individual projects to pandemic has reduced the University’s addition to this end-of-year assessment, the reduce the University’s execution bandwidth, but it has Sustainability Strategy Steering Group (SSG) emissions footprint also made us reconsider long-held will meet monthly to monitor and discuss (for example, through assumptions around our ways of progress on implementing the Strategy, building refurbishment working. We want to make the most of and will report monthly to the University or switching energy this disruption without over-burdening Executive Board (UEB; see Governance providers), as well as our staff and students. Therefore, we section below). the people resource will implement this Strategy using a required to implement The end-of-year assessment will inform an initiatives. combination of incremental changes Annual Report, which will be delivered to and ‘big bang’ initiatives that build the UEB in September of each year. This The first momentum by creating rapid, high- Report will also be publicly available on the Implementation Plan impact wins. University’s sustainability website page. will align with existing processes to plan for • Focusing on initiatives with early It is critical that as part of our annual public and secure funding in payback as well as long-term benefit. reporting, we also clearly advertise our the University. We aim to begin the Implementation 2030 net zero target and show how we are Plan with a mix of initiatives that will reducing emissions in line with this goal. This have early payback (for example, will help to hold us to account and send a offering carbon literacy training to clear message to our community about our students) and initiatives that will bring commitment to the vision in this Strategy. By benefits over time, such as developing reporting publicly on how we are reducing our roadmap to net zero. This will allow emissions, we also contribute to the us to demonstrate positive change from growing pressure on other universities and the Strategy in the short-term, while organisations to act. Figure 3 | Implementation overview to 2025

2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 2024/2025

Initiative Goal Sep - Feb Mar-Aug Sep - Feb Mar - Aug Sep - Feb Mar - Aug Sep – Aug Sep – Aug Establish Implementation Group and N/A develop Implementation Plan 2020-2022

Establish monitoring and reporting N/A arrangements Establish network of sustainability N/A champions

Develop sustainability communications plan N/A

Develop roadmap to net zero by 2030 G1

Consult on business travel points system and set 2025 reduction targets; incorporate G3 emissions calculator into Clarity

Conduct audit of sustainability research G5

Audit fossil fuel exposure and report G6

Develop methodology to measure Scope 3 G2

Procure and prepare to deliver carbon G4 literacy training

Consult on conceptual focus for Hub and G5 communicate to the University

Deliver training to staff and students on G4 integrating sustainability into programmes

Develop sustainable and ethical investment G6 policy

Measure Scope 3 emissions and set G2 reduction target

Conduct feasibility study on University-wide G3 emissions budget for business travel Launch online sustainability module and G4 carbon literacy training Deliver first year of Sope 1 and 2 emissions G1 reduction projects Pilot points system for reducing emissions G3 from business travel in a School/Department

Pilot first year of research projects linked to G5 Hub

Develop Implementation Plan 2023-2025 N/A

Pilot integrating sustainability into a selected G4 group of programmes

Evaluate success of points system pilot G3

Evaluate success-to-date of Hub G5

Deliver second year of Scope 1 and 2 G1 emissions reduction projects Deliver first year of Scope 3 emissions G2 reduction projects

Establish Director and additional funding for G5 Hub

Pilot integrating sustainability into a larger G4 group of programmes

Roll out points system for business travel to G3 whole University

Roll out sustainability integration for all G4 University programmes

Deliver third and fourth year of Scope 1 and G1 2 emissions reduction projects

Deliver second year of Scope 3 emissions G2 reduction projects

G1 Achieve net zero emissions for Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 2030

G2 Measure our total emissions footprint and set targets for Scope 3 emissions reductions

G3 Adopt a value-based approach to reduce emissions from business travel

G4 Ensure that sustainability is a part of every University education programme by 2025

G5 Make sustainability a cornerstone of UoS’ research and societal impact

G6 Implement a sustainable and ethical investment policy

N/A Implementation Group activities Enablers

Achieving the vision expressed in this Strategy will depend on a series of strategic ‘enablers’: elements that cut across all six goals, which will help us to successfully deliver the initiatives and monitor our progress.

Partnership working Our students and staff are deeply committed to realising our sustainability vision and we need to deliver this Strategy in partnership with them. There are several ways we will do this, including: • Involving students and staff in all decision-making, by ensuring student and staff representation on the SSG and the Implementation Group (see Governance section below). • Gathering ideas from students and staff on how to implement our vision, beyond the initiatives we have listed in this document. • Using students and staff as our preferred resource. For example, this might involve creating a PhD studentship to assist with Scope 3 emissions measurement, involving students and staff in the ‘train the trainer’ model for integrating sustainability into education programmes, or working with students and staff to develop campaigns to reduce energy use. We will draw on student and staff expertise and energy through the formal mechanisms of a student volunteer pool and a subject matter expert pool (see Governance section below).

Leadership We will need commitment from leaders at all levels to achieve the ambitious vision outlined in this Strategy. This includes commitment from the Vice Chancellor and Executive Team, as well as student leaders, leaders in Schools and Departments, and professional services team managers. Leaders will play more than one role in implementing the Strategy. They will help to deliver the goals (for example, an Associate Dean (Education) in a Faculty might guide programme leads to integrate sustainability into their curricula) and they will model commitment to sustainability to their Schools/Departments and teams. Leaders are also responsible for helping to hold the University to account. Governance • The Sustainability Strategy Implementation Group. This group has been created to oversee the day-to-day The Strategy will be supported by a governance structure implementation of the Strategy. It is chaired by one of the that ensures we hold ourselves accountable to deliver our University’s academic experts in sustainable energy and sustainability vision (see Figure 4). This includes: will feature a staff member and a SUSU representative • The University Executive Board. The UEB, including responsible for each goal. The Implementation Group will the Vice Chancellor, has overall accountability for meet on a fortnightly basis and will report monthly to the achieving our sustainability vision, as part of delivering the Sustainability Steering Group. University’s broader strategic goals. The University Council Responsibility for implementing the Strategy’s goals and holds the UEB to account for delivering this. The Dean of initiatives will fall to a range of different teams across the the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences will act as University. For example, the Environment and Sustainability Sustainability Champion on the UEB. Team within Estates and Facilities is responsible for • The Sustainability Strategy Steering Group. This implementing more sustainable transport options, while group oversaw the development of this Strategy the Investment Committee is responsible for developing and will continue to provide strategic oversight for our sustainable and ethical investment policy. These teams its implementation. The SSG includes Executive will receive oversight from and report on progress to the representation from the Dean of the Faculty of Implementation Group. Environmental and Life Sciences. It also includes the SUSU President, the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Estates and Facilities, and the Director of Finance (Planning). This group will provide strategic advice to the Implementation Group and report monthly to the UEB on progress towards delivering the Strategy’s goals.

Figure 4 | Governance structure for the Strategy

University Council Guides the strategic direction of the University

University Executive Board Advises the VC and is responsible to the University Council. Includes Sustainability Champion member

Sustainability Strategy Steering Group SUSU Responsible for strategic oversight of the Strategy. Chaired by Coordinates student activity and Executive representative, Dean of Faculty of Environmental and represents student interests on the Life Sciences Steering Group

Student volunteer pool Subject matter expert pool Sustainability Strategy Implementation Group Group of students who have Group of experts from across the Responsible for day-to-day implementation of the Strategy. volunteered to contribute to university (academic/otherwise) who Chaired by Professor of Sustainable Energy and includes implementation of sustainability have volunteered to contribute representation from across functional areas of the University initiatives expertise to delivering the strategy

Team delivering Team delivering Team delivering Team delivering sustainability initiative sustainability initiative sustainability initiative sustainability initiative (E.g. Investment Committee (E.g. Environment and (E.g. team working on Scope (E.g. team developing focus developing ethical Sustainability team managing 3 methodology) areas for the Hub) investment policy) the Travel Plan) Culture and behaviour The success of this Strategy depends on our people. We need to work together across all our campuses to achieve our sustainability vision. Specifically, in the implementation of this Strategy we must: • Harness energy and enthusiasm for sustainability at UoS. The consultations on our institutional strategy in 2019 and those that informed this Strategy demonstrated that there is deep, widespread commitment to sustainability among our community. As individuals, we care about this issue and want our University to make a difference. We need to harness this enthusiasm for the Strategy by involving as many people as possible in implementation. • Use networks of champions to promote change. We want to draw on the enthusiasm for sustainability across the University to establish networks of champions committed to change. Champions can promote our sustainability vision in their area of the University and help to hold people to account. We will connect these champions through informal, organic networks, enabling them to share ideas and increase their influence across the University. • Reinforce positive behaviour. Our Strategy relies on individual behaviour change – for example, encouraging staff to cycle to work rather than drive, or encouraging researchers to attend a conference online rather than flying to attend in-person. It is important that as we implement these behaviour changes over the next five years, we focus on reinforcing and rewarding positive behaviour, not punishing negative ones. This will help to create a culture of sustainable behaviour and prevent backlash from staff and students. • Review existing processes and policies to ensure they align with our sustainability vision. To achieve our vision, we need to put sustainability at the core of everything that we do. This means ensuring that all University policies and procedures are aligned with our sustainability goals. • Be mindful of diversity. Connected to the importance of reinforcing positive behaviour is the need to be mindful that our community is a diverse one, in which behavioural change involves different things for different people. For example, it may be more difficult for people with a disability to conduct more of their work online, or for a person with caring responsibilities to invest time in travelling by train to a conference. We need to continually test and adjust our policies based on feedback from different groups to avoid unintended consequences. Community Engagement • Draw on the strengths of our community partners to achieve our sustainability goals. We need to This Strategy is part of our commitment, as a civic university, leverage our existing partnerships (for example, our work to serve our community. We must engage with and draw on alongside the Southampton Common Forum) and build this community as part of the implementation process. new ones to realise our sustainability vision. Drawing This includes: on the talent and expertise in our region will help us to • Aligning our sustainability vision with our civic achieve our goals and ensure that our successes are engagement agenda. The University is already working shared by our community. on ways to create value by engaging with our community. We will link this Strategy to our civic engagement agenda Communication and seek out opportunities to deliver on our sustainability The Implementation Group will work with the goals and engagement goals at the same time. For Communications and Marketing team to develop a example, this could involve providing opportunities communications plan in support of this Strategy. The plan will for people in the community to learn more about have two main goals: sustainability, or delivering sustainability-related research that also directly benefits our community. • ‘Tell the story’ of our commitment to sustainability. Currently, we are not telling this story as effectively as we • Linking our sustainability goals to the City of would like. The communications plan will put our world- Southampton’s Green City Plan and Winchester leading sustainability-related teaching and research and City Council’s Carbon Neutrality Action Plan (2020- our existing achievements in areas such as biodiversity in 2030). We are already a signatory to the City of the spotlight. This will help to attract people to work and Southampton’s Green City Charter, and work on issues study at UoS because of our focus on sustainability and such as sustainable transport in partnership with both encourage other universities and organisations to follow city councils. We will continue to engage with both city our lead in taking ambitious action. councils as part of the implementation of this Strategy, including demonstrating how our actions help to deliver • Build momentum around this Strategy. The the Green City Plan and the Carbon Neutrality Action communications plan will inform UoS staff and students Plan, and serving as the go-to place for expertise on and the broader community about our sustainability achieving regional sustainability goals. vision and goals, and ways in which they can get involved. This will require changes to our sustainability website to • Consult on changes that affect our community. make it more engaging and interactive. We need to maintain an ongoing dialogue with our community about any changes that could affect them, such as alterations to on-site power generation or transport options serving the University. The Green Paper was published online in July 2020 to gather feedback on the proposed vision and goals. During this Appendix: consultation phase we received detailed feedback from more than 140 people (see Table 2). This process enabled us to establish what goals were the most important to the University Details on community and hear what people believed was missing. Feedback on Green Paper consultations Position Number of responses Academic Staff 47 Professional Since the beginning of June 2020, we have consulted Services Staff 39 extensively to develop this Strategy. We wanted to give as PGR & PGT Students 20 many people at the University as possible the opportunity to contribute to our vision for a more sustainable University Undergraduate students 32 and how we will achieve this over the next five years. Our Alumni 3 University community was very keen to be involved in shaping the Strategy to 2025, and we acknowledge and thank all those External 1 who gave their time and input – you have been essential to Total 142 helping us develop realistic and meaningful goals. Our consultation process ran from June to August and included: Following the Green Paper, we conducted a series of 12 operational consultations with 23 staff members to workshop • A workshop with a mix of staff (including academic the best ways of achieving the Strategy’s goals. These experts in sustainability, members of the SSG, and a consultations helped us to understand more clearly the member of Council) to discuss our conceptual approach practical implications of the initiatives that were proposed. to sustainability. The feedback received throughout all consultation phases was • A workshop with UEB. combined with plans set out in existing University strategies to • A workshop with Council. inform the development of this Strategy. • Interviews and focus groups with academic and professional staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students, alumni and other key stakeholders (see Table 1). • Online responses to a Green Paper. • Consultations on operational implications. • A workshop with senior leaders to discuss targets for the Strategy and implementation.

Interviews and focus groups with members of University community Group Number interviewed Staff 36 Students 27 Alumni 4 Total 67